Unda Future!A unique automotive Dual Training System (DTS) which is aimed at offering more demand and practice-oriented vocational training to

improve the employability of marginalized youth in Kenya.

UNDA FUTUREIn 2016, the Eastlands College of Technology and St. Kizito Vocational Training Institute in partnership with Simba Corporation Limited (Simba Corp) and Handwerkskammer Frankfurt-Rhein-Main (Chamber of Skilled Crafts) rolled out a unique Automotive Training Programme aimed at equipping qualifying students with the necessary skills to meet the growing need in the automotive industry. The programme was precipitated by the technological advancements experienced in the recent past that has greatly impacted the global motor vehicle industry and has in its wake, resulted in development of motor vehicle models that are more dependent on technology than was the case a few years ago. Having identified this need, the parties developed an industry driven syllabus that will in the end meet the rising demand for technicians possessing the skills required to meet the growing needs and emerging industry trends.

In addition to this, the parties initiated and rolled out a Dual Training aspect in the programme. Being the first of its kind in the motor industry, it gives the continuing students the opportunity to gain industry experience and on-the-job training through periodic apprenticeships. Currently, the programme is structured such that the industrial attachment is undertaken in between each of the three semesters over the 1.5 year course duration.

There are two courses on offer: Automotive Technology and Automobile Body Works Technology, presented in three levels (grade III, II and I) and examined by National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) at the end of each level.The program targets both girls and boys and education financing options are available to those from marginalized backgrounds.

For all enquiries, please contact:Eastlands College of Technology - Emmanuel Choge, echoge@eitkenya.org, 0723 482 502St. Kizito VTI - Giuseppe Valerio, ninogiuseppevalerio@gmail.com, 0724 238 716Simba Corporation – Immaculate Otieno, iotieno@simbacolt.com, 0703 046 175

About St. Kizito Vocational Training InstituteSt Kizito is a technical training institution owned by the Catholic Diocese of Nairobi, it was born in 1994 from a request of the late Cardinal Otunga, who wrote to a group of volunteers: “Kenya, has an urgent need of educational opportunities in technical fields; so frightfully many are the youth who are jobless and often on the brink of desperation and criminality… I am sure that not only the technical but also the human aspects of such an enterprise would be taken care of”.

Today St. Kizito VTI offer courses in Githurai and Roysambu to more than 400 students each year. Since the beginning, thousands of students have graduated: more than 90% of them have found a job in the market. The courses have always been started as a response to answering the requests of the labour market: Motor Vehicles, Electrical/Electronics, Solar, PLC, Plumbing/Metal Work, Hair Dressing, Business, IT, Catering.

About Eastlands College of TechnologyEastlands College of Technology is sponsored by Strathmore Educational Trust as a Charitable Public Trust that holds property and is responsible for the administration of several educational institutions. Strathmore Educational Trust sponsors Strathmore College (1961)/Strathmore University (2002), Strathmore School and Eastlands College of Technology (ECT) (2013).

The college implements an educational model that meets the real needs of Kenya’s formal and informal sectors. It caters for the formal sector by creating permanent linkages with the corporations through the implementation of the Dual Training System (DTS) in Motor Vehicle Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Installation Systems, Industrial Maintenance, Electro-Mechanics and Specialised Welding Course; and it is building upon the experiences of the ten years of the Informal Sector Business Institute (ISBI) for micro-entrepreneurs in the informal sector and expand the capacity building structure to provide improved training facilities to provide them also with structured support during and after the training.

The philosophy of the college is in line with governmental strategies to attain poverty alleviation and economic growth. The need for improved technical skills training and better accordance of the training provided with the needs of the private sector.

About Simba CorporationSimba Corporation is a leading regional corporation with diversified interests in automotive and power distribution, services and solutions, as well as in real estate and hospitality. Founded in 1948 by the late Mr. Abdul Karim Popat as a modest used-car selling enterprise, the company is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya and has grown to a large integrated multi-sector business group representing international brands and franchises such as Mitsubishi, Fuso, BMW, Mahindra, Renault, AVIS, SAME tractors, AKSA and GE generators. Simba’s hospitality properties include the Olare Mara and Villa Rosa managed by world leading hoteliers: Kempinski and Acacia Premier Kisumu.

The company’s Corporate Social Investment mission is “To provide a platform to underprivileged youth by equipping them with technical and business skills”.

About Handwerkskammer Frankfurt-Rhein-Main(Chamber of Skilled Crafts)The Handwerkskammer Frankfurt-Rhein-Main is one of the German Chambers of Skilled Crafts in Germany with the mandate of providing practical training within the German dual vocational education and training system as well as giving consultation and expertise to small and medium enterprises in the crafts sector. Together with the Chamber of Industry & Commerce Giessen-Friedberg, it implements a partnership project with the following partner organisations in Kenya: Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutions (KATTI) and Kenya Federation of Master Builders (KFMB).

The project aims at introducing a more demand and practice-oriented vocational training to improve the employability of young people in Kenya.

Tel: 0723 482502/ 0724 238716Email: info@ect.ac.ke or stk.githurai@gmail.comWebsite: www.ect.ac.ke or www.st.kizito.com